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Edison in Southern California will pay more than $82.5 million in damages after power lines were accused of causing the 2020 bobcat fire in the Angels National Forest, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
The bobcat fire broke out in September 2020, burning over 110,000 acres of herds and at least 170 homes, causing residents of Sierra Madre, Monrovia and Duarte to escape threatening the historic Wilson Observatory until it was included two months later.
The Department of Justice sued SoCal Edison in 2023, claiming that the power lines had fired up trees that were inadequately managed by the utility companies and their tree maintenance contractors. The federal settlement is the largest wildfire cost recovery settlement reached by the Central District of California, according to the Department of Justice.
“This record-breaking settlement with Edison in Southern California provides taxpayers with meaningful compensation for the widespread costs of fighting the bobcat fire and widespread damage to public land,” said Attorney Bill Essay. “My office will continue to actively pursue restraint costs and environmental damages from any entities that harm public forests and other valuable national resources.”
In addition to property damage, bobcat fires threatened federal endangered species, such as wildfires in the Angeles National Forest, fish, birds, and yellow-footed frogs in the mountains. And the trails and campsites of dozens of miles of the forest had to be closed for years.
Socal Edison will have to pay a $82.5 million settlement by mid-July without having to admit negligence or misconduct.
“These settlements are essential to restoring our landscape after a wildfire,” said Forester Jason Kuiken, a regional area in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.
Some of the funds from the settlement are expected to be used to rehabilitate burned areas, including restoring wildlife habitats.
This is the second chunk of the Socal Edison settlement, created in connection with the bobcat fire. Los Angeles County received $80 million from the utility to recover its recovery costs.
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